UNIT 4: Selecting Digital Media
Return To: Alyssa Staino Mini-Course | Integrating Digital Media
Overview
Students interpret media through the lens of their experiences, and allowing our students to analyze concepts through digital media challenges the ‘one right answer’ approach that is so often used in education. Some educators may stifle away from integrating digital media because it seems as though anything goes, but that is not the case. The questioning, and probing done through the use of digital media can really stretch the thought process of your students, and lead them to the understanding of content that you’re looking for, all while building their critical thinking skills.
Unit Objective:
The participant will identify steps in selecting digital media, explore criteria of effective digital media, and suggest digital media platforms that could be used in his/her classroom.
Reminder
Please open up your Google document, and access UNIT 4: Selecting Digital Media
Key Terms
Media: form of communication through visuals, language, and/or sound where the producers are not in the same physical space as the receiver(s) of those messages.
Digital Media: audio, video, and photo content that has been encoded
Media Literacy: the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and produce communication in a variety of forms, and includes capabilities such as comprehension, collaboration, reflection, and social action.
The Nitty Gritty
1. At this point in the course, hopefully you have a better understanding about what digital media is, how you can overcome barriers, and how to integrate it. When you envision your students using digital media in your classroom, what do you see? Describe it below.
2. Watch the following video: https://media.ithaca.edu/media/High+School+Students+Speak+About+Media+Decoding+in+Social+Studies/1_cluac75s
- What is your reaction to the student’s responses?
- How do you think decoding digital media might help your students?
3. I want you to look through the attached lesson plans. The documents contain multiple experiences utilizing digital media in order for students to gain an understanding about media messages, as well as health content. Please describe the lessons, and explain how the Key Questions and ideas discussed throughout this course are evident. Is there anything that you would change or add? How might a lesson like this be changed to tailor the needs of your students and content?
4. Research and suggest 5 digitial media documents that you think might be useful for your students to analyze using the NAMLE key questions from Unit 3. Justify your choice and indicate your target audience and educational context. Provide the links to these document, and save them on your Google Doc.
Synthesis
Key ideas to remember…
- Start with rich media documents. Something appropriate to for you students that also relates to your curriculum goals.
- Utilize different digital media platforms to perform decodings throughout the year.
- Prepare necessary background information and probing questions ahead of time.
- Remember that less is more. Deep analysis of concepts is going to have more of an effect on your students than superficial analysis using many different platforms.
- Only use a digital media platform if it will enhance your student’s understanding of a concept. Do not feel as though you must include it for the sake of doing so.